1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present inventive concept relate to a roller separation device that may remove a pressing force of a roller for transferring sheets of paper, and an image forming apparatus using the roller separation device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, etc. include a print unit for printing an image onto a sheet of paper, a paper feeding unit for supplying a large amount of paper, and a paper transfer unit for supplying sheets of paper from the paper feeding unit to the print unit. The paper transfer unit transfers sheets of paper by using pairs of transfer rollers pressed against each other.
Design of the paper transfer unit takes into consideration many design factors to prevent a paper jam in a process of transferring the paper. However, in spite of such design, a paper jam may occur due to various factors.
When a paper jam occurs, it may be difficult to remove jammed paper because the pair of transfer rollers may be connected to a motor for driving by using a power connection mechanism such as gears. If the jammed paper is forcibly removed, more serious problems may occur as the jammed paper may be torn. In other words, for example, the transfer roller pair may be damaged or the power connection mechanism may be damaged.
When a paper jam occurs, an attempt to remove the jam may be to disconnect the transfer roller pair and the motor to have the transfer roller pair enter an idle state. In this case, an electronic clutch may be required and thus the image forming apparatus may be complicated and expensive.
Another way to attempt to remove the jam may be to remove the pressing force of the transfer roller pair in engagement with an opening operation of a cover that opens a part of the image forming apparatus. In this case, however, since the cover may likely form a part of a paper transfer path, if the cover is connected to an apparatus that removes the pressing force of the transfer roller pair, positional stability of the cover may be degraded and thus the possibility of a paper jam on the paper transfer path may increase.